Holiday book drive ends Dec. 24

Sunday

Dec 23, 2012 at 12:01 AM

■ Holiday Book Drive: Books-A-Million and the Children’s Home Society are teaming up this month to collect books and toys for children ages infant to teens, with an emphasis on teen titles. Stop by either Books-A-Million stores (2601 NW 13th St. or 6111 W. Newberry Road) to make a tax-deductible purchase through Monday.

AUTHORS EVENTS

■ Book Signing: Shelby Beckett, a veteran spiritual investigator and channeler, signs her debut paranormal novel, “Between,” on life between this world and the next, noon-2 p.m. Jan. 19, Book Gallery West, 4121 NW 16th Blvd.To read an excerpt, visit www.shelbybeckett.com.

■ “One for the Road”: David Mather discusses his book, a fictionalized account of a young Peace Corps volunteer living in Cufeo, Chile, and supervising a reforestation project to help save the community, 1:30 p.m., Jan. 22, meeting room A, Headquarters Branch Library, 401 University Ave.Mather, who served in southern Chile with the Peace Corps from 1968 to 1970, has lived off-grid for more than 40 years. He and his wife divide their time between Lyme, N.H., and Florida’s Gulf Coast.Visit Mather’s website at www.onefortheroad-mather.com.

■ Writers Retreats: Sandra Gail Lambert, a fiction writer and memoirist, discusses writers retreats, how to apply, who gets in, what happens there and the effect they have on one’s writing life, 2:30 p.m. Jan. 27, Millhopper Branch Library, 3145 NW 43rd St.Lambert’s work has appeared in The North American Review, Arts & Letters and The Alaska Quarterly Review, as well as in anthologies “Something to Declare” and “First Person Queer.”Visit her blog at www.sandragaillambert.com.

MEETINGS

■ The Book Rack Book Club: Book club meets at 3 p.m. the first Thursday of each month; group collectively chooses each month’s read, The Book Rack, 4936 NW 39th Ave. (224-3945)

■ Feminist Book Club: Meets 7 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month, 6 p.m. for food and drinks at Wild Iris Books, 802 W. University Ave. Free and open to the public. (375-7477)